Stop the Bloody Whale Slaughter on the Faroe Islands

On a group of islands just north of Europe, the traditional bloody whale and dolphin slaughter takes place every year. The Faroe Islands are a part of Denmark, where whaling is banned, but they have laws that are independent of Denmark's laws, so they are allowed to continue with this mass execution. Year after year, thousands of pilot whales, beaked whales and dolphins are chased into the bay by boats, where they are slaughtered.

Court rejects efforts to strip beluga whale protections

A federal judge this week rejected an attempt by Alaska to strip Cook Inlet beluga whales of Endangered Species Act protections. Last spring, the National Marine Fisheries Service designated critical habitat for the whales despite state’s lawsuit.

PETA lawsuit alleges SeaWorld enslaves killer whales

A lawsuit filed Wednesday by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals and other "next friends" of five SeaWorld killer whales takes that novel legal approach.

The 20-page complaint asks the U.S. District Court in Southern California to declare that the five whales -- Tilikum, Katina, Corky, Kasatka, and Ulises -- are being held in slavery or involuntary servitude in violation of the 13th Amendment.

A PETA statement said the lawsuit is the first of its kind in contending that constitutional protections against slavery are not limited to humans.

As is the case with all natural resources there is a strong connection between consumer demand and natural resource protection. As the world’s population continues to grow at an alarming rate, it is becoming the case that both organic and inorganic natural resources are being depleted. Forests are being cleared to make flooring, furniture and to grow food. Coal, oil and gas deposits are being drained to sustain growing modern economies. At the same time things like oil spills are killing marine and other wild life resources. Carbon emissions are changing weather patterns that are threatening to flood coastal land areas and turn many areas into deserts.

The decline in numbers of whales is all part of this process. Capitalism demands consumer consumption. For economies to grow, people to have jobs to go to and cars to drive we must all consume more. Mass media indoctrinates us into believing this philosophy.

In Japan they have successfully removed political debate about the legality and morality of whale hunting by turning the issue into a case of foreigners attacking Japan. The hysteria of nationalism masks the hypocrisy of a country that says it kills whales for scientific experiments and then puts the whale meat on supermarket shelves.

It is the duty of the consumer to think for him or herself, and to consume in a way that will help conserve natural resources. It is vital that people reduce electricity consumption at home by installing suitable programmable thermostats; that they use CFLs; that they conserve water. We don’t have to radically reduce our living standards, but we do have to radically re-think our consumer choices and urge our political representatives to propose sustainable economic policies that will allow us to conserve our natural environment and such endangered species such as whales.

A Whale of a Guide

Whales, the biggest mammals on the planet, are a fascinating species. There is an abundance of whale watching tours for us to enjoy. Unfortunately there are many countries that still enjoy consuming whale meat. Whether this is "part of their culture" or done under the guise of "scientific research" it is saddening that so many of these amazing creatures are killed by humans every year.

Whale Guide, like the whales in our oceans is a whale of a guide. Of course there are many news stories about whales and dolphins but we now also include all kinds of guides on a variety of topics.